President held a consultation with the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

President Serzh Sargsyan today visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The President of Armenia toured a number of structural units of the Ministry, including the Department of Arms Control and International Security, the Consular Department and the CIS Department, the Department of Press, Information and Public Relations, inquired about the current activities of the Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy and development programs. Serzh Sargsyan familiarized with the working conditions of the MFA, talked to employees about their functions, programs being implemented and existing problems.

After finishing the tour, the President held a consultation with the leadership of the Ministry. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Ministers, the Secretary General of the MFA reported on the works being implemented in the specific fields under their supervision, the existing problems, the measures taken to deal with those problems, as well as on the forthcoming programs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian broadly presented the Ministry’s activities since 2008 and the works targeted at dealing with the problems of the MFA.

The Deputy Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan reported on the measures taken to develop the relations between our country and the CIS, bordering Iran and Georgia, as well as in the framework of the process of Armenia’s membership to the Customs Union. The Deputy Minister Sergey Manassarian presented the steps directed to advancing the cooperation with the Asian countries, the Middle East and the Near East countries, the reforms pertaining to the consular services rendered to citizens and the problems existing in that sphere. The Deputy Minister Ashot Hovakimian reported on the works implemented in the field of multilateral diplomacy, as well as on the works carried out to ensure international stability, a military and political collaboration and to accomplish some projects. Another Deputy Minister and the chief negotiator with the European Union Zohrab Mnatsakanian presented the works being accomplished to develop the cooperation between Armenia and the EU. The Secretary General of the MFA Shahen Avakian reported to the President of Armenia on the Ministry’s organizational issues and presented certain proposals on dealing with separate problems.

Serzh Sargsyan gave questions to the speakers on separate issues, presented his observations and remarks, gave instructions to the staff in charge, as well as spoke about the top-priority directions and the forthcoming works of the Ministry.

The President of Armenia stressed the importance of meetings in such a working format by underscoring that such a contact affords a good opportunity to familiarize with the Ministry’s current activities on the spot, to get thoroughly informed on current issues, to have unconstrained discussions around them and to offer solutions.

The President also answered the questions of the participants related to the foreign policy, the security, and the defending capacity of our country, the economy, the regional issues, the events taking place in Ukraine, the developments around those events, as well as to a number of other topics.

Answering the question pertaining to Armenia’s foreign policy and security Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of the results of the works being implemented. “Our task is the following – have we been able to increase the guarantees of ensuring our security year after year or not? Each of us, the state officials, has his own duty. My duty is to ensure the territorial integrity and the security of our country and I am in charge for that. Everything should be assessed based on results. I consider that today in terms of engaging in international relations, our involvement, the quality and type of allies we are much more secure than we were 5 years ago. Never has our army been so well armed and efficient. Never, in any case I do not remember, has there been such a certainty on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We have a quality, a feature not to try lying anybody or misleading, we say this is our interest, we are ready to do this, here we are not ready to do this.”

At the end of the consultation, a group of MFA employees were awarded encouragements for their conscientious and effective work. Acting Head of Legal Department Levon Amirjanian, Spokesman Tigran Balayan, Head of the Ministry staff’s Finance Department Armine Galstyan, Adviser to the Minister Armen Ghevondyan, Head of the Department of Arms Control and International Security Samvel Mkrtchian, Head of the Council of Europe Division of European Department Narine Nikolyan were awarded Letters of Commendation.